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Strawberry Basket vol.1


I was walking on the street in Riga, capitol of Latvia. A young couple who brought small basket was passing by. It's so eye-catching that I turned to them for asking about it. "Ah, excuse me? The small basket is for what?" "Oh, this? We are going to go the central market for shopping" I didn't get the point with the answer. Guessing from the size, it must be a special basket for something, I believe. However that's all as I ask them in English. Yeah, I must ask them in Latvian language.
Any way I was still searching the appropriate answer by myself after that. "It must be for eggs, I guess"


One day, I came across the answer in the busy central market. A middle-aged man with the very basket was walking. The basket was filled with bright red strawberries.
Then I stopped by the fruit section. Yeah, there were. Tons of strawberries. Three Euro for 1Kg. The price cards didn't tell in 100g unit for most of the foods. Add to that they were inexpensive.


Meanwhile, here is a supermarket in Japan. A woman, housewife I guess, is taking Japanese leeks in 100 yen (0.9Dollars) each one after another. She has leek in both hands. Then put them together in front of her face. She returns one of them and takes another leek. I'm interested in what she is doing and watch it. Before long I know she is choosing the leek which has most longest white part. The longest record so far is 35cm. A new challenger comes up to the stage. I have no time for ensure the winner. But I believe she'll get the leek which has longest white part on the wagon. If I may comment on that, it looks miser although I feel her.


I heard Japan's Engel's coefficient per family (The proportion of income spent on food) is rising. Some specialist and politician analyze the figure and comment on that. It tells that Japanese consumption shift to high-end food. You serious, uh? I think it's a all result of Japanese government's raising consumer price oriented politics.
Although it's said Japanese economy is still in a deflation, it has turned into an inflation for years. In fact the living cost is getting higher. Japanese consumer must give up buying products. That's why Japan's consumption is shrinking every year. Meanwhile they cannot cut food expense. This is the reason the Engel's coefficient is rising.
Authorities or prime minister, whoever made the comment, may not buy foods at a super market in town. Even more, they never do the side -by-side comparison for a leek. Well, my money sense is much closer to the house wife. This very gap of money sense must be the widening Japan's gap between rich and poor.


Most of hunger starvation on the planet may not comes from natural disaster but from the occupying wealth and misgovernment, I believe. Wealthy people can buy out anything even if it's expensive. On the other hand, the poor cannot buy even the food for survive.
I thought it's a story somewhere edge of the world. However as seeing scene around me, I feel like I accidentally looked down a darkness of the deep trench.



Jan. 2018



Today's piece
" Strawberry basket " Riga, Latvia 2016




fumikatz osada photographie